An elementary school teacher in Missouri has been placed on leave after asking students to “set your price for a slave” on an assignment.
The fifth-grade teacher, who has not been named, teaches social studies at Blades Elementary School in St. Louis, according to KTVI. The question was given during an assignment based on prices for commodities in colonial America.
“You own a plantation or farm and therefore need more workers. You begin to get involved in the slave trade industry and have slaves work on your farm. Your product to trade is slaves,” the assignment reads. “These could be worth a lot.”
The teacher has been placed on leave, pending an investigation by the Mehlville School District. Principal Jeremy Booker sent a letter to parents that said the teacher had apologized for the “culturally insensitive” assignment. He also said that teachers would receive “professional development on cultural bias in the near future.”
“I appreciate the parents who notified me of this assignment,” Booker said in the letter. “I met with the teacher this morning to discuss the purpose of the assignment, the teacher’s interpretation of curriculum standards, and the impact the activity could have on students.”
John Bowman, president of the St. Louis County chapter of the NAACP, decried the assignment and said he wanted to meet with district officials about the matter.
“The position of the NAACP is we need a public apology,” Bowman said. “There also needs to be some serious and immediate implicit bias, cultural bias, cultural difference training.”
